Pin collar stays



Jan. 29, 1963 C..RUBIO 3,075,202

PIN COLLAR STAYS Filed June 13, 1955 8 .ELEJQ 5W INVENTOR.

I5 4 Carlos Ruble United States Patent 3,075,202 PIN COLLAR STAYS Carlos Rubin, 126 E. 83rd St, New York, N.Y. Filed June 13, 1955, Ser. No. 514,840 2 Claims. (El. 2-132) This invention relates to improvements in devices for staying and smoothing shirt collars and the like.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved shirt collar stay which is carried by the collar in order to retain the collar in unwrinkled form, and with a smooth attractive appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved shirt collar stay which may be employed on any type of shirt collar, whether or not it is equipped with collar pockets or slots, and does not need such pockets or slots for use thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved shirt collar stay in which there is a main stay body with small fine metallic pins or sharp projecting members carried near opposite ends thereof, the stay body having a certain degree of resilience and stiffness, so that when the pins are inserted into engagement with the collar wing fabric from underneath, the inherent stiffness and resilience of the main body of the collar stay exerts gentle yet firm spreading pressure at its opposite ends through the pin members, upon the collar fabric, and hence forces it to conform to a smooth attractive outline and contour.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved shirt collar stay device which is adjustable for use with varying lengths of collar tabs or wings, and hence may be used with different styles and sizes of collars.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved pin collar stay in which the construction is such as to permit not only staying the vertical margins .of the collar wings, but also other marginal portions thereof, such as the lower edge marginal portions andthe like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved shirt collar stay of the type described, which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture, highly effective for its intended purpose, and rugged and hence long lived in use.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which,

FIGURE 1 is a plan view showing a preferred form of adjustable collar stay in an extended position.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational View of the collar stay shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a right end elevational view of the stay shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a detail plan'view similar to that of FIG- U RE 1, but showing only the leftmost portion of the collar stay, apart from the right hand element thereof, and connector.

FIGURE 5 is a detail plan view showing only the spacer connector link member seen inFIGURES 1 and 2,apart from the other elements.

FIGURE 6 is a detail plan view showing only the rightmost major body element of the collar stay shown in FIG- URE 1, apart from the elements of FIGURES 4 and 5.

3,b75,2d2 Patented Jan. 29, 1353 FIGURE 7 is a plan view showing a modified form of angular adjustable stay for collars.

FIGURE 8 is a plan view showing a modified form of cross adjustable collar stay, according to the invention.

FIGURE 9 is a plan view showing another modified form of collar stay with unitary main body construction.

FIGURE 10 is a front elevational view of the collar stay shown in FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 11 is a right end-elevational View of the collar stay shown in FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 12 is a plan view showing another modified form of quadrilateral stay of a type suitable for collars also.

The presently disclosed devices are convenient for maintaining the most attractive and uniform appearance desired in connection with the wearing of shirt collars. To provide a simple means for retaining shirt collars in unwrinkled form, I have developed several embodiments of pin collar stays, five of which are illustrated herein. By means of small pins pointed in opposite directions, and attached to the ends of plastic or thin metal stay bodies, penetration into the reverse surfaces of the wings of a collar becomes possible, causing a slight stretching effect that produces the neat appearance often sought.

Because of the practicality of these stays with their permanent pins, their usage requires no collar pockets or slots for insertion in the collar, thus extending the life of the shirt by affording the possibility of reversing its collar when frayed. Consequently, the devices shown, with their thin and smooth pin structure and small points, occasions little abrasion on the site of insertion of the pins into the collar. Therefore the possibility of dam-age as a result of pinning can be completely eliminated. These collar stays were developed as an invisible means of improving the appearance of all types of collars, and are usable even with collars of complicated design.

In order to understand clearly the nature of the invention, and the best means for carrying it out, reference may now be had to the drawings, in which like numerals denote similar parts throughout the several views.

In FIGURE 1 is shown an adjustable stay according to a preferred form of the invention, with the disassembled parts seen in the accompanying views FIGURES 4, 5 and 6. It is seen that this stay is constructed of three main members, the upper or rightward member 1, the lower or leftward body member 2, and the intermediate connecting and spacer member 3 shown also separately in FIGURE 5. The upper and lower members 1 and 2 are substantially identical in size and are secured together in overlapping relationship with the spacer member 3 therebetween, as seen clearly in FIGURE 2, for maintaining their alignment, and initial contours, and for preventing interference in sliding the upper member for greater or lesser size.

The three major elements 1, 2 and 3 are held together by means of small rivets 4, two being shown, which extend through the openings it) shown on these parts. While rivets are preferred, other modes of attachment may be employed in modified forms. As seen in FIGURE 6, the right hand main body member 1 may have weil rounded ends to prevent tearing or other unwanted engagement with the shirt fabric, and has a short collar engaging pin 5 mounted near its right end with its sharp pointed right end slightly spaced from the said end according to a preferred form of embodiment. At its inner end, the pin 5 may have a small integral eyelet or coiled end which is secured to the main body 1 by means of a small rivet or otherwise, at 4.

The left hand main body member 2, as seen best in FIGURE 4, also has a small pointed pin 5 secured by a small rivet 4, near its left end 8, there being a small narrow spacing between the pointed end 6 of the pin and the main body end 8, as at 7, as a safety factor, as well as for ease of insertion, the ends 8 being smoothly rounded to facilitate pinning and to eliminate friction against the shirt, while the pin engages the fabric.

FIGURE 4 also shows best, the longitudinal position adjusting slot 9 in main body member 2, which has a small set or series of spaced cut-out circles 10c formed therealong at intervals. The diameters of the circles 10c are all equal, and are larger than the shank of the rivet extending through hole 100, and are smaller than the rivet heads. These circular holes are connected by parallel sides of the slot which thus is narrower intermediate adjacent holes, the slot at these intermediate points being several thousands of an inch smaller than the outside diameter of the shank of the rivet, to introduce resistance slightly, to movement, and hence, a little pressure is required to execute the movement of the rivets through the channel orslot from one circular hole to the next, and accordingly it snaps into locking position at each hole portion of the slot.

Referring now to FIGURE 5, which shows the spacer member 3, it is seen that it has two such circular holes 10b for the shanks of the rivets to pass through perpendicularly, and the distance between the centers of these two holes is equal to the distance between the centers of two consecutive holes ltlc along the longitudinal slot 9 in FIGURE 4. The two holes at ltla shown in member 1 in FIGURE 6 are similar to those in FIGURE 5 so as to register therewith when in overlying positions. Hence, when assembled positions as seen in FIGURES l, 2 and 3, the two rivets pass through both these holes and secure elements 1 and 3 permanently together against relative movement. The spacer 3 need be only sufiiciently thick to allow free movement, and since the two central rivets seen in FIGURE 1 also extend through the longitudinal slot in FIGURE 4 element, engaging two of the circular spaced holes 10c in the slot, at a time, they insure against turning motion of the element 2 and maintain alignment, while permitting adjustable extension of elements 1 and 2 for any length of collar wing. Thus any size of collar wing can be properly fitted with the right amount of tension assuring an even and neat surface.

FIGURE 7 represents an angular adjustable stay according to the invention. In this modified form, there are two main body units and 22 which are preferably of different lengths. The end 24 and 2d of the units are secured together in overlapping positions by a rivet or eyelet 28, allowing them to be turned through 360 degrees making different angular positions which enable the fitting of different sizes and cuts of collars, on either dress or sports shirts. The coil pins 5, with their respective rivets 4, are secured at the free ends of the stay bodies as seen at 30 and 32, again maintaining a small space between the pin ends and the edges of the body ends as explained for FIGURE 1.

As indicated by the dotted outlines of a collar, in FIGURE 7, one unit of this stay is afiixed underneath the upper edge of the wing of the collar to prevent wrinkles due to perspiration, and the other unit is pinned in proximity to the wing edge near the tie. Since the two body units are difierent in size, they can be reversed indiscriminately to fit to either edge of the wing of the collar, according to its size, and also it is seen that the same stay can be used for either right or left wing of a collar, by simply opposing its angle.

FIGURE 8 shows the cross adjustable stay which is a further modified form. This type is formed of two major body elements 34 and 36 crossing over one another, and intermediate their ends, being secured pivotally together by means of a rivetor eyelet 38 to provide for circular motion. The point of location of the pivot was selected in this general location, to render the fullest coverage for as many collars of differing standard sizes as possible, there being various lengths of total size possible by turning appropriately. Each body member has at least one pin 5 secured near an end, the element 36 having two pins, while the element 34 may have only one if desired.

FIGURE 10 shows a further modified form of the invention, in which there is a single major body 40, with coil pins 5 secured by rivets 4 near each end as in FIGURE 1, but only one body being shown, there is no extension possible, it being usable with collars near its length. FIGURES 9 and 11 show the plan and end elevation of the form shown in FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 12 shows the quadrilateral form of stay, which is a modified form of the invention. As its figure indicates, it represents a geometrical shape with two coil pins 5 attached at opposite corners 50' and 52 by means of rivets 4 as explained for FIGURE 1. The corners 50 and 52 are acute angles, while the other corners 54 and 56 are obtuse angles. This type of construction, as indicated by the dotted collar outlines, is engaged as shown, with the collar, and retains straight and neat a greater area of the wing of the collar, as it is longitudinally as long as it is laterally wide in approximate terms. Furthermore, each wing of the collar, which rests on a stay of this type, acquires a homologous and well inclined appearance. The quadrilateral stay renders greater aid in the prevention of wrinkles along the upper edge of the wing of the collar which is often dampened by perspiration which softens the material. A further advantage of this stay is that its edges can be trimmed with a scissors to fit an spe ial type of collar.

The FIGURE 9 unibody form of stay is of course usable with varying lengths of collar wing, by changing the angle at which the stay is disposed in the underside of the collar, that is, a short collar wing would find the stay at an angle away from the wing edge, while a long collar wing would find the stay parallel to the wing edge. The stays may be light metal or plastic material.

Although I have described my invention in specific form and terms, it will be understood that various changes may be made in size, shape, materials and arrangement without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention in the foregoing specifications, what I claim as origin-a1 and unique and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A collar stay device comprising a first main stay body, a second main stay body disposed in at least partial over-lapping edgewise registered relation to said first main stay body, said first main stay body having an extension slot formed therein, retaining pin means carried by said second main stay body and engaging said extension slot, whereby the degree of extension of said stay bodies is adjustable; said extension slot being formed with a plurality of sequential spaced enlargement openings along its length, the width of the extension slot intermediate said enlargement openings being slightly less than the diameter of the shanks of said retaining pin means, whereby movement of said retaining pin means from one enlargement opening to the next, is by snap movement springing past said reduced slot portions; said retaining pin means comprising at least two retaining pins spaced from each other by the distance between adjacent ones of said enlargement openings in said slot, so that at all times, when moved to rest positions at said enlargement openings, said first and second main stay bodies are constrained against mutual turning action; and collar engaging pin means carried by each of said main stay bodies near their outer ends, for engaging portions of a collar to maintain the smoothness thereof.

2. The construction according to claim 1, wherein there is discrete spacer connector member means disposed intermediate said first and second main stay bodies, said spacer connector member means being secured to said second main stay body for movement therewith, and interposing frictional steadying effect on said first main stay body, to block warping and interference in mutual motion there- 5 between.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 991,402 Windrich May 2, 1911 6 Krischer Jan. 2, 1912 Tos July 11, 1939 Holt Aug. 14, 1951 Gavrilovich May 26, 1953 Oscard July 16, 1957 

1. A COLLAR STAY DEVICE COMPRISING A FIRST MAIN STAY BODY, A SECOND MAIN STAY BODY DISPOSED IN AT LEAST PARTIAL OVER-LAPPING EDGEWISE REGISTERED RELATION TO SAID FIRST MAIN STAY BODY, SAID FIRST MAIN STAY BODY HAVING AN EXTENSION SLOT FORMED THEREIN, RETAINING PIN MEANS CARRIED BY SAID SECOND MAIN STAY BODY AND ENGAGING SAID EXTENSION SLOT, WHEREBY THE DEGREE OF EXTENSION OF SAID STAY BODIES IS ADJUSTABLE; SAID EXTENSION SLOT BEING FORMED WITH A PLURALITY OF SEQUENTIAL SPACED ENLARGEMENT OPENINGS ALONG ITS LENGTH, THE WIDTH OF THE EXTENSION SLOT INTERMEDIATE SAID ENLARGEMENT OPENINGS BEING SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE SHANKS OF SAID RETAINING PIN MEANS, WHEREBY MOVEMENT OF SAID RETAINING PIN MEANS FROM ONE ENLARGEMENT OPENING TO THE NEXT, IS BY SNAP MOVEMENT SPRINGING PAST 